


The Winter Lover

by PandorasWritingDesk



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore
Genre: Inspired by Hades and Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), M/M, retelling of myth, trans!Persephone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-03-20 01:15:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18982201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PandorasWritingDesk/pseuds/PandorasWritingDesk
Summary: Young Persephone has been goaded away from love, but the shade in his garden has been slowly pulling him away from the safety of his mother's bosom. A twist on a classic myth of yore.





	1. The Maiden of the Field

**Author's Note:**

> I know its uninspired, but I've loved Hades and Persephone since I was a kiddo and wanted to see y'all's thoughts. Also, give me some criticism if you have some.

The chill of the early morning air left goosebumps on Kore’s skin in the late spring. No one knew the difference of autumn and summer, for the goddess of the harvest was once forever bright with her godling child in her fields of everlasting bounty. And her son was always happy to stay both by her side and on her glorious earth.

Demeter’s child radiated the sun in his skin, his body the color of the deepest soils of the earth. If a human were to gaze upon him, they would instantly fawn at his youthful beauty and grace. But, the child was never once seduced. He refused every touch or advance from men and women, continuing to stay pure, for he was born of the eternal spring and sun, and his soul never searched for the carnality he constantly aroused.

And it was this purity that caused many of his godly siblings an intense intrigue. The Twin Gods- Artemis and Apollo- treated him as a friend and visited him in Demeter’s fields when Earthly matters arose. They taught him of music and light, of healing, creating and riding across the sky above. Dionysus would come to discuss matters with the boy’s mother and teach him his arts of illusion and performance, helping the godling master his own speech and to better deny possible mortal’s seeking victory over him or the more aggressive nymphs and lascivious satyrs. Even Zeus’ daughter, Athena, taught him defense and strategy, gifting him shields and quivers made of silver and bronze. Still, Demeter loved him most and made it her mission to keep him safe from the evils of man, teaching him of their world and hatred so he would never fall into their corrupted hands.

Demeter wasn't alone in her fawning over the child, though. Aphrodite adored time with him and made it her duty to search for his lover to be rid him of the horrid burden of his stubborn purity, knowing his heart was aching for a feeling he couldn't place. The mere concept of his loveless heart had her weeping many nights. She befriended him easily and taught him love songs on the lute Apollo made him. He didn't fall under her charms, though he played her music often in the fields, attracting more suitors that he grew less and less hostile towards as the months went by. He started having long conversations with the wanderers who came into his own fields as the centuries went on and on. The goddess watched each encounter in anticipation yet, it always ended with a wave and a humbling gift; a flower, a clover, or a fruit.

She grew irked by his chastity but, she could feel another pull from somewhere she couldn't place. A pair of eyes that warmed the boy’s cheeks and made him fawn by himself over a nameless being. She didn't expect to see the child so shamelessly enamored until she saw the eyes he did. A dark creeping shadow that fell over the boy as he sat under a sunlit tree. Her interest in Demeter’s child peaked as she brought Zeus into the mix. She had evidence that his brother was leaving his home.

Hades had left his realm to slowly seduce the boy. No one saw him with his helm and the boy assumed it was a wood nymph or a lost shade courting him. He could only hear the sweet voice when he leaned against a dead tree far away from his mother’s temples and gardens, the only black tree in his garden. He would go to hear the voice when the day went long and his heart felt heavy. He told the spirit his every sadness, his fears and his constant entrapment. And in return, the nameless ghost soothed him, helping him feel whole and free in his field.

Slowly, he was coaxed into giving more and more of himself to the ghost until it asked him if the god loved him. Kore had never thought of the word. He heard it and saw lovers gather in both his and his mother's garden. Yet, he couldn't see anything in the word until his spirit asked him of it. He couldn't think of any way to describe his feelings towards the voice beside it. So, he nodded his heart opening to the thoughts deep within him.

As steady as honey poured upon a shrine, a face paler than untouched marble emerged from the tree. The god’s heart nearly stopped as a figure caped in shadows and crow feathers unfurled from the trunk. He knelt before the startled boy as he took the godling’s dark hand into his lily-white one. The grass the shadow-cloaked man touched turned as black as his tree and Kore felt weak as ash coated his dark hands. The ground around the tree split and sank as the cold hands pulled him flush against his black pelt covered chest.

The voice the spring god had found comfort in was harsh as bare bone on gravel as his chin was held in the ivory grip of the Lord of Death himself.

“If thou hast lied, I shall speak my name upon thine mother’s lips.”

The sun coated boy grew red at such a claim. Never had his dark skin turned red and steaming under any hand but death itself.

“If I had lied, I shan't dare to listen to thee! I have dignity and power that I shall always use if thou even dared touch the blessed being of the earth I have crowned from. She will smite thee if you dare to ravage or raize the child she has lifted and praised. The child who left the tree no other god would care to set their blessed eyes upon, lest the eyesore drags them to the levels of the lowly and lame.”

The shadow man smiled as he wrapped another arm around the boy.  
“I shan't doubt thee again, spiteful maid. If thou speaks the truth as bravely as thou defends your bearer shall thee accept a humbled proposal?”

A mischievous light sparked in the spring god’s deep amber eyes as he felt the white hands on him lift him from the soft soil.  
“What could thou propose for me that shall make me swoon, dark spirit? You summon this shade for yourself for a purpose you have yet to voice.”

“My time above has become short. The next dawn shall be my last on the living ground. Though the dread of leaving you has seized me in its vice, I shall rather bury myself in the pits of Tartarus than lose the sight of thee.” Kore chuckled, leaning closer to the man as he felt the stroke of firm hands on his shoulder. “Won't thou follow my aching heart below? To the depths of the earth so we may bask in our adulation, purer than any worldly sun?”

The godling smiled upon the man as he kissed his white forehead. He could feel a coldness wrapping around his heart yet, it was more calming than his mother's scent or the sunshine against his chest. He did love this soul, this shade, this man. How awful could a trip down to the pit of death be? Mortality could not claim him and the risk was low for any god. Especially one in love.

“I shall follow you,” he promised with a fiery kiss upon the chalk lips. The shade gripped the god for dear life as his air was stolen by young lungs. “I vow with my seal upon your lips. Bring me a sign of your choosing and I shall fall into Tartarus itself to meet you.”

“The Narcissus,” he panted, with a blinding smile, “You've told me your love for the Narcissus more times than their buds have opened. When the sun is highest, search the bud out. When you pluck the steam from the earth, I shall snatch you underneath it with me. Your mother may loathe me all she wishes yet I shall carry her hatred on my own back. Never let her know of thine own want.”

That was the only thing Zeus forced Hades to promise. No matter how he stole away the child of spring, his mother must never know of their love. Demeter would never let him go if she saw his face. She knew the Lord of Death by footstep alone. She must've suspected something amiss about her child yet not his heart, she would never see him as pure if she'd known of his own mark upon the lord of death. Thus, he shielded the boy of any knowledge of his true self or his identity.

Kore untangled himself from the shade, kissing the pale hand before placing his feet into the earth once more.

“I swear, my love, I will search for you as long as I can stand,” he vowed as he placed one final kiss upon the shade’s lips once more, a hunger boiling in his abdomen from the mere thought of running away with this dark being. The shade faded into the earth, slowly dissolving in the dimming sun.


	2. A Godly Council

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I really hate Zeus, but also, he's constantly involved in the myths about Persephone's kidnapping, so I thought I'd give him something to do, despite focusing on Aphrodite. Cause I can. And Aphrodite is perfect but barely involved in the overall mythos unless she's cheating (cause the Greeks used her to talk about sex 80% of the time)

From Zeus kingdom, a great cheer of joy rose from Aphrodite, who watched the scene in excitement with her skeptical uncles, Zeus and Poseidon.

 

        “We can't allow this,” Poseidon boomed, his eyes wide in horror at the scene, trailing after the earth boy who danced among his fields,” if Demeter loses her son, she will unleash terrific wrath upon the mortals who’ve undoubtedly stolen her child. And for a god to be going out of his way to seduce said godling is absolute-”

 

     “Perfection!,” Aphrodite intruded, taking Zeus’ hand in her own with a smile brighter than the stars themselves. “Dearest uncle, Kore is frightened by finite love, even more than the centaurs or the drunken maidens of your son who tackle and terrorizing him in his own fields. His heart has long yearned for someone he could give his heart to, and now Hades has proven himself devote after near centuries of support and care. Your brother’s in love! And, best of all, I know for certain that the boy loves him back. How can they not deserve our blessing? Hades has spent eons upon eons in solitude and all of Kore’s life has been void of any loving figure save his mother. Hades makes him whole, fills the hole even we were cursed with when the Colossus' split. The godling carries Hera’s own traits. Does your brother not deserve his own Queen when you both have had more lovers than the Fates could count? To be frank, he deserves this more than any of us, with the sheer volume of subjects he rules. Imagine what a partner as intelligent as Kore would do to help the continuous strain of the underworld!”

Zeus remained pallid, unmoving and frowning over his distressed brother. She knew there was a high risk he'd never listen, but this wasn't for her. It was for her nephew, someone who deserved happiness more than any mortal who prayed in vain. She sighed, standing before her uncle and staring him down with her fiercest gaze. 

      “Zeus, you gave him an order and he has followed it exactly. He could've stayed in his palace and left everything the same, but he chose to ask for Kore's hand. Even at the risk of his entire kingdom, he asked Kore exactly as he was commanded. He loves the godling. Should he not gain the love he has been gifted when he tries his hardest to make it true?”

 

      She bit her lip at the tension of Zeus’ frozen blue stare into the shimmering image as the boy fell to his field, smiling and laughing with joy. A slim smirk perked from his lips as he turned to his horrified brother, meeting his niece's glowing amethyst eyes.

 

      “I can't see a reason to halt their union. Kore has complete say in his future, and he's chosen our brother as much as our brother chose him. It can't hurt to allow their romance to play out. If Demeter grows as angered as you fear, brother, we can direct her anger at the world below her fields with our honor intact. No risk befalls Olympus if Kore or her mother fall out.”

 

      Aphrodite nodded, despite the slight scorn she felt at his statement. She'd have to remember to hex his next ten lovers for that. Still, seeing her nephew happy was worth any unheard slight. 

 

       Poseidon sneered, bitter at the look of joy in the Death god’s eyes as he drifted back into his abyss, a bright spring of green with tight buds left by the dead tree. 

 

     “I shall not silence my tongue if your wife’s lineage turns to me in her grief come the morrow.” 

 

      And with a final scoff of annoyance towards the gorgeous goddess smiling at the faint grin of the godling, he vanished back to his home. Aphrodite sighed, sitting up with a smile as the godling finally went to his mother’s temple, a soft love song she’d once played with him in his fields of flowers and birdsong filling his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *clears throat* APHRODITE SAID TRANS RIGHTS Also, she has an enby kid (Hermaphroditus) so, fight me. She is literally the mother of all gays so fight me double if you think she'd be a bitch about anything going on, this month especially.


	3. A Final Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The updates will start getting longer after this scene. This is definitely one of my favorite scenes in this piece and I'd love to know your thoughts.

 Demeter smiled as her son came into her temple, his soft smile glowing like sunlit lilies as he seated himself before her. He placed a basket of his harvest before her as she seated herself in her mortal form before him, sorting through apples and grain and grapes with a hum on her lips. She plucked one of the sunflowers he'd brought her and laid it in his lap. 

     “More of these should come soon. They're growing higher than saplings.” She plucked a large string of ivy and wove it around the flower, given it the strength of iron with her will. Her son nodded, hugging the flower with tender care as he caressed the petals. “Keep it close to you, darling. I worry more and more as the wind grows cold. More sacrifices are made and more men wander in. It's dangerous for pure things, especially tender saplings like you.”

     “I'm not afraid, it's alright, mother. I swear to you, no wanderer shall ever worm their way into my heart. I shan't fall for those who die in a god’s breath.”

 

    His mother smiles wide, slipping a flowering Daphne bud in his hair as he laughed softly. “I know my son. You'll be safe. You'll be wiser than me, as all children do.”

 

   He twirled the soft purple flower in his hand before a thought struck him. “Mother, I glanced upon a Narcissus bud as I climbed through the gardens. I was overtaken by the mere sight of its frail bud upturned towards Apollo’s glorious globe! I do pray for thee to cherish its bounty in a moon’s time.”

 

       His mother beamed at the mention of her favorite flower, the one she'd weave throughout her hair when the warmth was overpowering to even her. “As do I, my star and my child. When it blooms and its scent rings, sweet and true, bring me as many as you can carry up the mighty hill.”

   “With pleasure,” he nodded with a smile. “I wouldn't think of tainting them with the pain of rushed bloom.”

 

     The quiet goddess hummed in approval, reaching out to brush her child's cheek as she tied a small crown of grains to hold his frazzled, ebony hair. He kept it in a short halo, like a thistle bud. “I shall wait till then, my sweet flower. Go, but please, be very cautious. I've heard many a tale of the strangers in our fields looking to steal you.”

 

     He met his mother’s amber eyes, seeing the fear welling just beneath. He knew what leaving his mother would do, her eyes would grow from sorrowful to enrage and she would grow bitter from her pain. He knew what his decision meant, but he also knew how much he cared for the shade. He only felt safe when he was with the shade as if the struggle they fought so long ago never existed. He always felt judged for that call to be male, especially in the garden. But, Hades would take him away from that, take him to a land where no one would care and he could just be happy. He'd take being happy over being frightened of men and fearful of how his mother would treat him. This was his way out, and he felt lighter than he ever had as he took his mother's hand and met her gaze with all the love he could give her. 

    “I give you my word,” he swore a soft promise with all of his power. “I shall run from each and every hand that tries to snatch me, whether faun, nymph or man. No mortal shall take me, mother dearest, this I swear.” He felt his heart give a heavy heave of guilt as he kissed her brow. She tied a gift of ripe grain, gourds, and shining apples around his waist in a shimmering crimson pack before he left with his final prayer, for her peace and happiness.  He sat and watched as his mother's image gradually faded, a soft bed of sun-warmed grass, sunflowers, daisies, and poppies the scent of orange blossom hanging sickly sweet in the air. 

      That was the last time Demeter saw her son, Kore.


	4. The Descendant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Persephone falls to the underworld.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for longer chapters!!! Lots of domestic stuff coming up, have some fun with some godly boys.

Falling into hell was almost anticlimactic for the boy. The moment he wandered towards the dead tree, the startling white of the Narcissus had sprawled across the strong trunk. A single spring was separate, bright and ethereal in its patch of browned grass. He spared a quick glance to his mother’s temple and knelt beside the plant. He gave a quick prayer for her forgiveness before reaching out to the tall flower. The buds were the pallor of silk and they swayed in the light breeze of the cold winds. He plucked it softly by the bottom of its steam and waited for the fall.

A rumble filled the earth, like a thousand angry stallions, as cracks webbed underneath the God of spring and bloom. He felt his eyes well with tears before he felt the drop, strong and sudden. When the ground fell, the boy clutched the bud to his chest as his body contorted into a rigged arrow. He looked up to see the dead leaves falling to him as the bright sky grew into a cerulean blur. As the bright leaves swirled around him, something solid halted his slow descent.

A hand as cold as marble wrapped around his bronze shoulders and drew him to the owner’s chest. A sigh, sweet as summer wind, blew onto a cheek colder than a skeleton’s grin as Hades clutched the child with the strength of death itself. A song filled the air around them as Hades’ joy reverberated from his very skin. Kore felt safe in his arms, he lost all his worries of the land of greenery and sun, listening to the soft thudding of war horses on air as the descent downward grew darker and colder outside of death’s arms. He squeezed the man, his long ebony hair whipped behind him as he leaned against the soft, white skin against him.

A kiss was placed against his bright ebony skin as he felt his stomach drop, the horses’ hoofs hitting the ground. Hades lost his smile though when he saw the godling’s tears streaming down his cheeks.

“My heart, what makes thine eyes flow with pure sorrow? My darling, does this darkness frighten you?”  
The boy shook his head, chuckling weakly. “Of course not! My love, I’m so happy. I was so frightened only moments ago. I missed you severely, I was scared I wouldn’t see thee. But, now you’re in my arms, tangible and solid once more,” he smiled, gripping the man’s cheek. “Now, I can see you forever. You’re gorgeous, exactly as I wished. I wanted to be safe, to be loved.” He took his pale hand, clutching it to his chest. “And, finally, I have now found it. I've been saved by you.”

The shade tensed as the god stroked his cheek with tenderness and warmth. The boy looked so startlingly bright in the darkness. Far above the ground was covered with brambles and thorns, the only sign of the blessed boy’s fall, a web of Narcissus covering the dead vines. He couldn’t help but smile when he thought of the image he’d placed above their entry. He picked up the lithe child and carried him out of his chariot, the horses snorting before he placed the godling down with a soft kiss.

  
“A moment, my darling. I can’t keep them trapped in their reigns for eons, lest they run.”

  
The boy nodded, straightening his thin chiton, stained with grass and dandelion, slightly shivering from the sudden cold. He stared up, seeing thin streaks of blue lights, creating a bright teal sheen on the obsidian earth, webbed in the tall stalactites that seemed to scrape the tips of the marble castle he knew was the Lord of Death’s home. He almost fell back as he turned to see the black stallions had turned to thin, gray boned creatures with black eyes. His heart hammered as he remembered all the gorgeous creatures he had felt leaning against him, the chestnut mares and appaloosa stallions who carried suitors and travelers to his land. He could almost see his new lover riding on the dark and frightening beast. One of the stallions snorted against the shade’s shoulder, causing a soft laugh to ripple through him. Kore walked toward the man he had held tight in his arms as the horse trotted off into the field of crystal and obsidian.   
“They’re gorgeous,” he whispered, hugging the shade’s waist.

  
Hades froze as he heard the boy’s soft voice near his shoulder. He turned to see the dark-skinned boy smiling as he watched the creatures, wide amber eyes trailing after the skeletal bodies running over hills and mountains of precious stone and steel. He had only seen that face on the boy when he had been kissed on the hand for the first time by a traveler Hades had possessed in desperation to feel the boy’s touch in desperation. Kore had responded with a fiery retort but his eyes were the most gorgeous sight he'd ever seen. He was as shiny as the crystal and obsidian and tanzanite that glimmered beneath him. His chiton was askew on his shoulder as he leaned against the god’s back, humming as he watched two of the horses leaning against each other. 

“Might I be lent something to warm myself?”

  
The shade blinked at the shivering boy, his arms tight around his thin frame. He forgot about the chill without the sun from his eons away from it. He quickly wrapped around the godling, picking him up by his waist.

  
“A moment, my prince. My abode is not far from here.”

  
The boy giggled softly, nuzzling his chest with his cheek as he stared up into the shade’s black eyes. “Truly? Oh, blessed be, I shall see my lover’s home before I’m graced by his name!”  
Hades halted as the boy wrapped his arms around his neck. He had been so fervent in his joy of simply gaining the boy’s consent, he had never mentioned his name, let alone his place in the world below the boy’s own garden.

  
“I will tell you my title, only if you never speak it to the land above.” The boy nodded, smiling as he was clutched tighter to death’s own chest. “I have many titles, the Lord of the Dead, King of the Forgotten and Loved, Death himself, even.” He swallowed as he saw the boy’s Adam's apple bob, his amber eyes bright in anticipation. Hades sighed, brushing back the boy’s dark curls behind his ear. He leaned against the boy’s forehead with his own, whispering with a voice softer than the breeze that rattled a piece of thread. “My name is Hades, King of the Underworld. I’ve been watching you for so long, hoping that you would love me even if the most you could know of me was my voice. And now you’re here,” he beamed, staring into the godling’s fiery eyes. “so I know you love me, even if you must be away from all you’ve known.”

  
Kore shivered slightly, gripping Hades’ neck. “Hades… My mother fears that name. She bade me flee the land of Hades, foretold I’d be sickened by the lack of sunlight.” He watched Hades gulp, holding the boy close. “She feared I’d freeze. I used to wander the terrain of Tartarus with Morpheus’ guide, I stumbled down a black pit with dim fires lit all around. I feared to drown in a river, a sound that pounded against my very being. But, this is nothing like my sleeping mind has ever conjured. It’s luminous and vibrant. ‘Tis nothing like a death in person..”

  
Hades almost doubled over in warm laughter. “You find this land comfort? It invites you, truly, my heart?” The boy nodded a soft smile on his bright red lips. “Then I have finally found my true love, my prince who revels in the dark!.”

  
Kore grinned, hugging close to the lord of death as he was carried to the far-off obsidian castle. He watched the bone horses running in the charcoal fields with a smile.   
“Hades?” he asked, leaning against the man’s shoulder. “What caused you to set sights on me?”

  
A hum rang out from the man as he thought. “I suppose such infatuation was born at the sight of you. I was awestruck by your voice. I had been longing for eons but no one else seemed as lonely as me. Then, all at once, I was in awe of you, smiling and singing heartfelt love songs as your flowers bloomed, an equilibrium of silken song, sun warm sight and the passion of a ferocious sea, all while your heart yearned for warmth.” He rubbed down the boy’s back as he added, “I can show you how I’ve watched if you desire.”

  
The boy merely shrugged as he leaned against the god. “I wouldn’t mind. I hoped to glance upon my mother’s face. I still have a great fear of her sorrow.” He met the god’s eyes as a flash of fear met his eyesight. He could sense the god of death’s fear at the pull towards the home he was already taken from. He could feel his throat clenching from the inevitable fall in the boy’s adoration in him. Kore sighed, kissing the god’s cheek. “I don’t wish to leave, my King. Merely to ensure she is lively and well, not pained or angry.”

  
Hades nodded, the doors of the ancient manor swinging open. “I see, but my love, I still wish you would promise to stay with me, regardless of what you see, for posterity.”   
The boy nodded but, he felt strange as he understood his agreement. “I give you my word. But, for me to stay here until the earth falls and leaves us alone, we must have an understanding. Hades, Lord of Darkness, Keeper of Souls, Prince of the Dead, what is my name?”

  
The god smiled down at him as he placed down the boy. “Your name, my dearest, is Kore. The godling of Hera’s sister, Demeter. Born from the gods and glorious guardian of the sweet spring and buds. Demeter’s precious flower, and now my love.”

  
“Good. But, Kore was the name my mother gave to me above ground. A name for my virtue and purity. Now, with my awakening and realignment, I feel a need to change it. I’m far more than a child.”

  
“I can see why. Do you want to pick one yourself?”

  
“Yes. I give you my word.”

  
Hades smiled, holding the boy to his side as he walked with him up a high staircase. Kore hummed softly trying to think of a different name. He didn’t like the implication of being a small child. He was near a century old. Hades stated he had watched over him from his unveiling, and he had no doubt in his honesty, but he hoped those years weren't all spent in pained pining over the titanic pull he'd felt since he first gazed upon two lovers intertwined in his field.

  
He felt light-headed slightly at the thought of the affair. One of the men was shining like gold itself in a field of sunflowers he was reverent not to touch. In his lap, a taller man with skin the color of mighty oaks and freckles of bronze was rutting against the golden man through a thin layer of cloth that grew visibly darker.

  
Kore had never blushed so deeply. Of course, he didn’t see much other than lovers intertwined at the time, still not even knowing where he himself came from. Course, Aphrodite was quick to explain the affair when he’d discussed his confusion. And she did not spare the details of the whole act between two men. She approved it more than even some of the philosophers according to herself. Yet, all he could think of as Hades opened a door and lead him inside, were all the things he’d heard from Aphrodite. He worried if he had to go through the exact same thing she’d told him.

  
A pile of pure white furs was laid out on a bed with gorgeous blue and gold curtains in a room of pure obsidian and gold. Every space was covered in gorgeous tapestries of his family, his mother facing the windows across from Hades, stone-faced and grim. Kore saw himself, with bushels of violets and adonizes and narcissus in his arms like the wheat and sunflowers that covered his mother. Aphrodite stared into the bed, Apollo and Artemis turned towards the west and east. Dionysus was coated in grapevines and fawning mortals on the opposite of Aphrodite, his father Zeus glaring into the earth.

  
He could almost hear his step-uncles and aunts, taunting and cheering him as he fell heavily into the warmth of the furs. He could smell sweet earth and crushed roses as he nuzzled the pelts. The fierce chill was quickly driven away from the caressing warmth and Kore let out a sigh, stretching like a cat in his bed. Hades seated himself beside the boy, stroking his curls as he saw him drift to sleep. Kore fought to keep his eyes open as a thick black blanket curled around him, a pale hand stroking his chilled skin. The boy’s skin was a light tan from its rich caramel, shocked dark by death's heated hands. A soft hum of thanks met Hades as his chiton was loosened from him, gingerly pulled away and folded by his side.

  
He closed his eyes as he felt another weight shift the bed, he was absorbed in warmth as he was wrapped up tight in the marble arms holding him close. He smelled the rain and the depths of deep, rich soil. The boy turned to bury his head under the god’s chin, bare chests pressed tight. He'd never felt so warm, not in the sun or the stars or the fires of Demeter’s temple. A soft kiss lulled him to sweet and serene slumber. Hades stroked his skin softly as he nuzzled him, a light sigh escaping him before falling asleep with the boy’s arms firmly wrapped around his waist. 


End file.
